Ecovillage Design EducationFive week comprehensive training
7 October - 10 November 2017
With departure Saturday morning, the 11th of November

Based on Gaia
Education curriculum Ecovillage Design Education - Design for Sustainability.We warmly welcome you to join this comprehensive training, comprising of five separate week long modules, which may be attended as a whole or separately. The course is based at the Findhorn Foundation ecovillage and community building on practical as well as theoretical knowledge.

Our five week long course begins with a focus on Facilitation skills for participatory learning and education, critical thinking, spiritual enrichment and sustainable social action.

The leadership skills training module covers:

Theory and practice of group building & cohesion activities;
Contemplative and mindful techniques for group work;
A variety of methodologies for working with multi-cultural groups.
Practice opportunities to hone facilitation skills are plentiful.

Social Design

In the Social Dimension module participants learn:

to develop a common vision for a collective project, including and transcending individual perspectives;
to make decisions that everyone can accept and support;
to improve their communication skills and communicate in a more compassionate way;
to deal with conflict and diversity as an invitation to growth; and,
to apply transition principles and ingredients in their project.

Ecological Design

In Ecological Dimension module participants explore:

Whole Systems Approach to Ecological Design;
Benefits of Bioregionalism;
Key principles in the application of Appropriate Technologies for clean energy, living water, green buildings and healthy soils.
The week includes 'hands on' play with earth materials and mini eco-kits to purify waters; tours of local gardens and eco-buildings; calculating carbon footprints; and opportunities for artistic expression.

Economic Design

In Economic Dimension module participants explore:

The dominant pattern and possible leverage points for change within today's globalised economy;
Ways to bring economic life into alignment with ecological values;
Right livelihood
& social enterprise;
How Money works; Community banks and local currencies;
Relevant legal and financial issues for ecovillage projects.

Worldview

With departure Saturday morning, the 8th of November

In the Worldview Dimension module participants learn:

to recognise and communicate sustainability to diverse worldviews;
to create a deep connection with Nature through personal experience;
to develop a regular spiritual practice that facilitates the ability to balance inner and outer work;
to design ceremonies for the most significant moments in their projects;
to become a world worker

Course Information

The curriculum draws on the experience and expertise developed in a network of educators from some of the most successful ecovillages and community projects around the world.

The course Design for Sustainability is an advanced training course, providing a practical forum for learning and developing skills needed to work effectively with cultural change for sustainability, on many levels including personal development skills, practical application and theory.

The Transition Training within our course offers insights and key responses to the issues that will support local efforts, towards resilience, to thrive.
The Transition networks support actions that mitigate the impacts of climate change and peak 'everything'. Read about the role of the Design Studio and Case Studies

A yearly report by Gaia Education covers the highlights of the course and their success. Design for Sustainability Report 2014
Design for Sustainability Report 2013
Design for Sustainability Report 2012Credentials

The Ecovillage Design Education Curriculum is an official contribution to the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development 2005-2014.

The Findhorn Ecovillage is a beautiful setting. Given a Best Practice designation by UN - Habitat in 1998, the Findhorn Foundation and community have a founding tradition to listen and learn from Nature's intelligence.

We began our conversion of original caravan park to ecovillage over 30 years ago – a process that continues to this day. Founding member of the Global Ecovillage Network, Findhorn Foundation community has been offering experiential and well-informed sustainability education for over 15 years.

Within The Findhorn Ecovillage, sustainable values are expressed in the built environment with ecological houses, innovative use of building materials such as local stone and straw bales, beauty in the architecture and gardens, and applied technology in the Living Machine sewage treatment facility and electricity-generating wind turbines. Sustainable values are also expressed in the community's social, economic and educational initiatives.

Participant Reviews

'Strengths of this course, …Class A teachers; Comprehensive and cohesive content; Combination of practice and theory - most of the time; Moving the soul, inspiring the spirit and grounding the physical; Connecting personal growth with world needs… From the first moment being adressed as designers.'
Marinus 2013

'I found this course to be ...Exciting, broad, insightful, fun, with an excellent range of learning methods used ; I now understand sustainability in the context of the social, economic and spiritual perspectives as well as the ecological.'
Klina 2013

'The course… catered to different needs with a diversity of learning styles and teachers; there was a holistic approach to all our topics and much of what we learned was being put into practice….

This has been an outstanding course and I believe that the quality of the trainers, content of the course, and the enthusiasm of the participants... made it so.
Thank you all so much for a wonderful, meaningful experience!'
Stephen 2013

Training fees: Income related pricing including of room and board, materials and outings.

We want to ensure that our courses are accessible to people with diverse means. When you book, please choose the higher, medium or concession listed for the course, based on your personal income.

Full five week training: £2990.00/£2650.00/£2310.00

Please offer what you can afford:
The higher fee supports us to support others to attend, and the work of the College
The middle fee covers the course costs and enables course development
The low fee is minimum for us to provide the course. Thank you.